2014

SZ3085 : Alum Bay Unconformity

taken 10 years ago, 3 km from Totland, Isle of Wight, England

Alum Bay Unconformity
Alum Bay Unconformity
An unconformity is a gap in the geological record. Unconformities occur when a succession of sedimentation stops, perhaps because of a rise in the land relative to the sea, so deposition ceases and erosion may occur. Thousands or millions of years later, another change occurs which leads to the resumption of deposition of sediment on the much older surface. On the right here is the Upper Chalk, with a layer of fine brown mudstone originally deposited on top of the chalk, but also infilling the sinkholes, and to the left are the Reading Beds, the first unit of the much younger Tertiary sediments that form the famous coloured cliffs. The unconformity is the plane where the soft mudflow in the foreground meets the base of the cliff.

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Anne Burgess and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Coloured Cliffs [32] · Cliff Top [15] · Landing [4] · Upper Chalk [2] ·
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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SZ3085, 375 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Anne Burgess   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Monday, 30 June, 2014   (more nearby)
Submitted
Saturday, 19 July, 2014
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SZ 3061 8522 [10m precision]
WGS84: 50:39.9510N 1:34.0949W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SZ 3056 8521
View Direction
East-northeast (about 67 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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